And Then He Was Gone
by BrightLittleOranges
Summary: "12-year old Hogarth Hughes went missing last night after leaving his home near Rockwell, Maine. If you see him, contact the authorities immediately. There's only so much time left for this little boy." Hogarth goes out into the woods on his own one time too many.
1. Prologue

_**HOGARTH**_

I peeked over my blanket to glance at the clock next to my bed. Nearly midnight. _Mom should be asleep by now,_ I figured. I slowly slid the covers off of me as I crept out of bed.

My sneakers were waiting right next to me on the floor. After pulling them on, I opened the window inch by inch. Peeking out into the cold night air, I wrapped my arms around the tree outside my room – the leaves a cheerful green due to the new summer season – and pulled myself out. I climbed down the tree, going to check on the Giant in the barn. Holding my breath as I opened the doors just a crack. He was asleep and doing fine. A small smile on my lips after I shut the doors, as quietly as I could.

As I strolled through the woods, I tugged my jacket closer around me. Yeah, Mom had told me not to go out at night alone, but it felt nice to be on my own sometimes. I ran my fingers through my hair, taking a refreshing breath and watching it as I let it out.

Then, out of nowhere, I got this feeling. An uneasiness in my stomach like someone was… _with me._

Or watching me.

Stalking me.

I stopped in my tracks as panic unconsciously filled me. My breath caught in my throat and I froze completely. I was trying to listen over the sound of my heart beating rapidly in my chest, and I had honestly never felt so frightened of something I couldn't see. Whenever I heard something in the forest before, I always reasoned with myself that it was an animal, so that's what I tried to do.

To my right, I heard a twig snap. It was way too close for comfort and I suddenly wished I had brought a flashlight or something to defend myself with. I heard the same noise again, almost like whatever – or _whoever_ – it was was _trying_ to scare me.

_It's just a deer,_ I thought to myself, but I wasn't very convinced.

"Hogarth," someone said, just above a whisper, terrifying me.

That was enough to motivate me to go back home. I turned and ran as fast as I could. I was pretty sure that I was going the right way, but my senses were completely clouded by fear and the darkness was so thick around me I could hardly see a thing.

I could hear someone running after me and I made the mistake of looking behind me. Before I could process anything, I felt all the air being knocked out of me as someone kicked me in the stomach. I fell back into the dirt, groaning as I tried to pull myself back up. Then came a sharp pain on the left side of my face. Something had definitely hit me.

My bleeding was obvious, even to me. I gave up trying to spit the metallic tasting stuff out of my mouth. Everything hurt and I was afraid that if I tried to stand up, whoever was there would hurt me more.

So I closed my eyes and let myself fall into the darkness.


	2. Chapter 1: Sanity

_**ANNIE**_

My eyes fluttered open and I blinked a few times, adjusting to the grey-ish light pouring into my bedroom. I sat up in bed, hugging my night shirt around me. It was far too big for me and it always had been. It used to be my husband's… before he died, that is.

I climbed out of bed and ran my finger's through my hair sleepily as I went to check on Hogarth. But when I opened his door he wasn't in his bed. His window was wide open and, like usual, I got worried. I ran down the stairs and out to the barn. My panic only rose when I saw that the only one in there was a slumbering robot. I hurried back to the house, the grass soft beneath my bare feet. The sky was a monochromatic grey, almost signaling that there was bad news.

"Hogarth!" I hollered, silently pleading that he would respond. "Hogarth!" I repeated, hurrying through the house, trying to find him. After searching the house and coming up empty, I rushed to the phone, dialing in Dean's number. I paced, waiting for him to pick up, and twirling the cord around my finger.

"Y'ello?"

"Oh thank God," I muttered when he picked up on the other end of the line. "Dean. Hi. Uhm, would Hogarth happen to be over at your house?" I asked, still praying he was. I needed to know that my boy was safe. I didn't know what I would do without Hogarth.

There was a short pause in the conversation and just as I opened my mouth to ask if he was still there, he answered me. "No. Why? Is he alright?" For all I knew at this point, my baby could be anywhere. If he had gone out last night, he would have come back.

"…I don't know."

"You call the police, I'll be over there as soon as I can," he told me quickly, hanging up the phone without giving me a chance to respond.

This was basically a mother's worse nightmare. Or at least my worst nightmare. Crime wasn't a particularly normal thing to happen in our town, and so the idea that Hogarth had been kidnapped was the worst thing I could imagine. Well, one of the worst things. _There was always a chance he could be going through…_ No, I couldn't let myself think about that. I just had to focus on getting him back.

* * *

_**HOGARTH**_

I groggily opened my eyes and slowly lifted my head to look around the… wherever I was. I was in a chair and that was all I could really take in right then. Most of the pain I had endured the previous night was gone, but my head aching so painfully that I had trouble bearing it.

"You're awake." I heard the same voice from last night in the darkness. Whatever this place was, it was cold and dark, but this person I was hearing sounded familiar. It was more of a feeling of familiarity than a specific memory.

"Who are you?" I squinted, trying to see him in the dim light. "What do you want with me?" I could feel dry blood on my chin and I tried to bring my hand up to scratch it off, only to realize that my hands were tied behind my back. I huffed, slumping in my chair.

"You haven't figured it out yet, Hogarth?" the man replied ominously. "I took _you_ because you took _everything_ from _me_." I could feel him walking around me, keeping his distance, but still circling me like a vulture. He hadn't made anything clear with that statement. If anything, he confused me more. I'd never taken anything from anyone. I was no thief. "My job, my so-called-friends, home." You could hear him getting angrier with every word. "Money. _Everything!_"

And then I realized who it was and I knew why he had taken me. He blamed me, and I had no doubt in my mind he planned to hurt me.

Kent Mansley lost everything. Including his sanity.

* * *

**So, little thing to say here since you're probably like "What is wrong with this person? Kent is totally OOC." Well. I had this feeling during the movie when I watched recently that Kent was already fairly unstable, but he was able to maintain a sane appearance the only exceptions being when his temper got out of hand. And after the end of the movie I can assume that Kent was discharged and that sent him over the edge. Because without his job he lost money, his home, his everything. And he didn't have friends or anything else, so he just lost it.**

**Explanation over.**


	3. Chapter 2

_**HOGARTH**_

I glared at the man, trying to hide any fear that was still tying the knots in my stomach. "You won't get away with this," I spat, keeping my fierce look.

"Oh," he chuckled darkly. "But I already have, Hogarth." I could practically see the smirk on his face through the thick darkness around me. _This isn't happening, this isn't happening, this isn't happening._ That's all I could tell myself to try and keep calm. That this was all just a nightmare and that soon mom would wake me up and make me clean my room. God, I missed my room. But then my logical side would take over and I realized how much everything had hurt. "And until your _mother_ and her little _boyfriend_ give me what I want, you're staying with me."

"Th-the police are gonna come and ge-get you," I insisted, struggling to get free of my bonds. It was more of a prayer than a threat, though. Just me _hoping_ that mom would call the police and save me, but I didn't even know where I was, they probably didn't either. "And they'll save me and put _you_ in jail."

"What makes you think the police are coming for you?" he replied, moving closer. He rested his hand on my shoulder and I flinched away as he roughly squeezed it. I was about to tell him that my mom would send them, but he continued before I had a chance. "Your mother's probably glad that you're gone." My head snapped up to look at him with both anger and curiosity. "She had enough financial issues with you around. One less mouth to feed is less of a burden to her."

"No!" I shouted at him, tears stinging at the corners of my eyes. That couldn't be true. Mom loved me. Then I realized, though, that he was _right._ All I was was more work for her, another person for her to feed, a _burden._ "No, she loves me," I muttered, keeping my gaze glued to the ground.

"Does she?"

* * *

_**ANNIE**_

It didn't take long for the police to arrive, nor Dean. So I soon found myself with a yard-full of police cars outside, and Dean standing next to me while I spoke to one of the police officers in the living room.

"Ma'am," the officer tried to calm me, trying to stop me from talking four-hundred miles a minute like I was doing. "Please calm down, your son probably just went out for a stroll. Maybe walked down to Rockwell. For breakfast or somethin'."

I tried my best not to glare at him, I really did, but I'm pretty sure that I ultimately failed. "This is my son we're talking about. If he went to Rockwell, which he wouldn't have in the first place, he would have told me! He would have left a note." I took an unintentional step towards him. "I want you looking for my baby because, for all we know, he could b-"

"Annie," Dean started, putting a relaxed arm around me. "Calm down." He then turned to the officer. "Please, just get someone out there looking for him." The officer looked between Dean and I for a moment before sighing and giving a small nod. I let out a breath, but couldn't bring myself to smile. I wrapped my arms around Dean's waist in relief that someone was searching, and we just stood there for awhile like that.

Then I heard the phone ringing in the kitchen.

* * *

_**HOGARTH**_

"We're going to call your mother," Kent told me. For just a fraction of a second, my hope's rose and I felt like he might let me go. Then I remembered he was a dangerous, insane man who just kidnapped a kid. "And we're going to tell her what I want and how to get you home."

I didn't say anything but soon enough he was holding a phone to my ear and dialing in what I assumed to be my phone number. After a few rings, Mom picked up and I had never felt so happy to hear her voice before. "Mom?" I choked out, my voice cracking.

"Hogarth?" she answered, sounding just as relieved as I was. "Dear God, honey, where are you?"

I felt tears welling up again just hearing her voice. But I couldn't cry. Not in front of Kent. I wouldn't give him that satisfaction. I glanced up at the man holding me captive, pausing for a moment before continuing. "Mom, I've been taken by a really bad man, a-and he's not gonna let me g-go until-" I paused again as Kent scribbled something down and flicked on a light switch. I took that split second to look around. It was a cellar. Or maybe a basement. Either way it was small and cold and nearly empty. He held the notecard in front of me. "Until you give him thirty…thousand dollars." I looked up at him. "Why do you want that?" I whispered.

"Shut up," he hissed.

Either way, I knew at that point that I was never getting out of there. We didn't have that kind of money. You could practically hear Mom's heart breaking as she realized as well that we didn't have that money, and there was _no way_ we could get it.

"Hogarth, honey, I'll get you out of there. I swear. You'll be okay. I love you so much."

_No, mom, don't say your goodbyes. Not yet._

"He says you can't get the police involved or he'll… he'll hurt me more. I lo-" Before I could finish telling her I loved her, Kent pressed the receiver and cut me off.


End file.
